I was going to post a blog consisting of a mixtape tracklist I made to accompany a short story I wrote, “Northern,” out now in issue 33:2 of the New Orleans Review, because this blog has had its share of dorkdom, politics, and depressing news about global warming for one week. And hell. It’s Saturday. Warm outside. So why not watch weird videos of records playing? These are some of the best tunes on earth.

But then I started watching old footage of soul acts on YouTube and got bothered by it all. “Northern” is a story about race. White kids listening to black music — in this case the best of Motown, Stax, and whatever gets called Northern Soul — plus two reggae songs — and this. Black musicians performing for white audiences. A white girl falling in love with the image of a black girl. It’s something I’m barely able to talk about — race in America, and a history that’s always fascinated me — and why I had to write a story about it in the first place. Fiction doing so much better a job of speaking the truth than words. Why else do we tell stories?

Anyway. A lot of these tunes are old 60s numbers, and until today I’d never seen any of them played live before. Watching this stuff just bothers me. Like “Hairspray” in a bad way. But listening to it — this music makes me so happy — so I can’t stay away. I’ll play these songs forever…

Here’s the tracklist. Watch a few of these videos, tell me how you feel.

1. Frog Stomp – Floyd Newman
2. Under My Thumb – Wayne Gibson
3. It Ain’t Necesary – Mamie Galore
4. Jump Back – Rufus Thomas
5. Slim Jenkins Place – Booker T. & The MGs
6. A Bird in the Hand (Is Worth Two in the Bush) – the Velvelettes
7. The Snake – Al Wilson
8. Cloud Nine – the Temptations
9. Help Me – Al Wilson
10. Shing-A-Ling – the Cooperettes
11. Another Saturday Night – Sam Cooke
12. Let’s Wade in the Water – Marlena Shaw
13. Crosscut Saw – Albert King
14. The ‘In’ Crowd – Dobie Gray
15. Hand Clapping Song – the Meters
16. Secret Agent – the Olympics
17. Out on the Floor – Dobie Gray
18. Testify (I Wanna) – Johnnie Taylor
19. Israelites – Desmond Dekker
20. Give Me Power – Jedi Master Lee Perry, apparently
    
21. Mo’ Onions – Booker T. & The MGs
22. Harlem Shuffle – Bob & Earl
23. Shoes – Bobby Bland
24. Have More Time – Marvin Smith
25. Love Man From Carolina – Bird Rollins
26. bonus track: Hot Stop – The Aggrolites

Anyone interested in mixtape swapping: same rules as last time: write to me at etalmadge at gmail dot com, send your address, and we’ll trade. Good music for good music is the plan.